‘I’m thrilled to be back’: Stella McCartney on board for Team GB Olympics 2016 kit

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With only a year to go until the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Great Britain’s athletes are hard at work, putting the hours in with their coaches, nutritionists and physiotherapists. And Stella McCartney is also part of the team behind the scenes, as the designer is reprising her role as creative director for Team GB's look.

As part of her decade-long collaboration with sportswear brand Adidas, McCartney is reprising her role after creating the team’s kit for the 2012 Games in London. Replica kits sold out across the country three years ago when Olympic fever swept the nation, so it comes as little surprise that McCartney, who brought a sophisticated edge to Team GB’s look, has been asked back on board.

Stella McCartney behind the scenes

Footage released today shows mother-of-four McCartney being hands-on with the athletes that she has come to know on a first-name basis; gold medalists Jessica Ennis-Hill and Laura Trott are enjoying the privilege of working with the award-winning designer on the functional pieces that will be worn by themselves and hundreds of their Olympic and Paralympic colleagues.

The design process began in early 2014, when McCartney was re-commissioned with Adidas. The London-based designer said: “It is a great honour to work with our great athletes again to make them proud with the designs we are creating for them.”

Jessica Ennis-Hill with sketches of the 2016 Team GB kit

The kits themselves are still under wraps, with the big reveal still some time off. But Barry Moore, UK brand director for Adidas, is teasing with a powerful statement: “Three years ago we set the benchmark. Bringing together our innovative sports technology with the designs from Stella McCartney will allow our athletes to perform better than ever before.”